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DNB is Norway's largest financial service group and one of the largest in the Nordic region in terms of market capitalisation. A company this big is nothing but ambitious when it comes to leadership development.

Even in the financial sector great leadership are clearly linked to great communication skills. To help progress on this parameter, DNB asked Ramboll Management Consulting to introduce a new format; swift, quarterly pulse surveys. This is part of a corporate strategy aiming at enhancing both the employee engagement and the manager’s communicative competencies – often two sides of the same coin.

12,500 employees surveyed

Nine simple questions split between three subjects. Four times a year around 12,500 employees in 20 countries provides feedback on how well they think their immediate manager is doing on creating engagement, informing on changes, and communicating effectively. In return, the managers get a clear and applicable guide on how to act and communicate going forward.

- The employees use maximum two minutes on the survey, and the questions are the same every time. Our 1,000 managers worldwide receive the report shortly after the measures are accomplished. This is efficient and allows us to react fast if it is needed. This is a valuable management and development tool for Internal Communication and HR, says Arne Beek, Senior Vice President of Organisation and Management Development in DNB.

A collective attention to communication skills

According to the Vice President, the biggest use-value is having accomplished a collective attention to employee engagement and good leadership communication. This is vital as the company is changing rapidly and in this clear leadership communication and sense of direction is key.

From an overall perspective, there has not been a big variation in the results from quarter to quarter. But once Arne Beek and the team start digging they often find interesting observations that only apply to one region or parts of the organisation. This gives DNB a useful development tool on a local level.